Jeannie and Manuel Gadea with former Cienega standout Andrew Vera. Manuel is wearing Diego's letter jacket. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

Jeannie and Manuel Gadea's son, Diego, was an outstanding young man and wrestler. He was young and he was strong. He won the 160-weight class of the Salpointe Wrestling Invitational in 2010 but, he was also suffering from something very painful and very mysterious that most parents, schools and friends do not like to think about or talk about.

Diego was diagnosed with childhood depression at age 11 and he took his own life in June of 2011. Age 17. A boy.

I'm not going to try put a number on it and I'm not going to quote the obvious that for every teenage suicide there are many, many more failed attempts. I really don't care. As a father of three kids and a teacher to thousands, one attempt is too many.

The Lancers changed the name of their yearly invitational to the "Diego Gadea Salpointe Wrestling Invitational" in an effort to help remember Diego and, perhaps, help other teens who may feel lost. The yearly event will take place this coming Friday and Saturday at Salpointe with over 25 teams expected to take part.

Manuel speaking words of encouragement on the awards stand. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

"It's really an honor," said Jeannie told me when the Invitational began. "He had a passion for wrestling and he loved it. The team has been really supportive.”

As usual, Jeannie and Manuel will be present to help with the award ceremonies on championship night. They will place medals around the necks of every child who stands on the stage at Salpointe and offered them hugs. If you go to enough of these events, you know very few of the wrestlers smile on the stand. Heck, some of them really don’t want to be up there unless they are standing on the top step, but that has never been the case at this meet.

"They go through a difficult week with practice and then worrying about their weight," explained Manuel. "They usually are pretty upset when they don't win."

But something is always different. The couple always speaks briefly with each wrestler while putting the medals around their necks and each comes away with a smile.

"They find out who we are, and they hear everything is okay and it helps to change their mood," explained Jeannie. "All of the wrestlers Diego competed with are gone now but this is an important learning moment for all these boys.”

The national suicide prevention hotline is 1 (800) 273-8255.

Diego Gadea at the Mountain View Duals (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)